Chris graduated with a First in History from Christ Church, Oxford and continued with his postgraduate research there. He worked as a Senior Adviser to David Willetts and Michael Gove prior to his election as Conservative MP for Kingswood in 2010. During his time in parliament, he has served on the Education and Health Committees and was Parliamentary Private Secretary to the then Chancellor George Osborne.
He served in the government from 2016 until 2019, encompassing Minister of State appointments at the Departments for Business, Health and Education. He was also Minister of State for Universities and during this time he launched the first International Education Strategy in 2019, as well as previously being a Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party.
Chris currently chairs the All-Party Group on Universities and is co-chair of the Higher Education Committee on Research Funding. He is the author of four history books.
